Ericsson's HyC and Telecinco launch Formula One live via mobile TV in Spain

Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008

Spanish fans of Formula One can watch this season's races live on their handsets thanks to HyC - part of the Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) group - in partnership with Boomerang TV and Spanish broadcast network Telecinco. The mobile TV service was launched in May.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ericsson's HyC supplies an end-to-end, scalable service including encoding, editing and transmission, which enables Boomerang TV and Telecinco to stream the Formula One races to mobile subscribers via live or scheduled repeat broadcast. HyC also provides related systems integration services.

Live streaming to the consumer is a key aspect of the agreement. Viewers can enjoy personalized coverage and choose between live streaming and downloading selected moments of the races which are recorded, archived, managed and published automatically in real time as part of the service.

Streamed via the first off-portal in Spain, the service will run through the Formula One season, which ends in early November.

Manuel Villanueva, Content general manager at Telecinco, says: "Consumer demand for live mobile TV is increasing in line with technology improvements. Through this agreement with Ericsson's HyC, we can offer our customers a richer communications experience though a personalized and interactive service."

Ingemar Naeve, President, Ericsson Iberia, says: "This agreement to launch Formula One on mobile TV marks an important step for Ericsson. It reaffirms our position as a key player in the multimedia arena, supported by strong systems integration capabilities. It also confirms our ability to enable dynamic content and provide end-to-end solutions, supported by our recent acquisitions such as HyC."

Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. The market leader in 2G and 3G mobile technologies, Ericsson supplies communications services and manages networks that serve more than 195 million subscribers. The company's portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, and broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and developers. The Sony Ericsson joint venture provides consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.Ericsson is advancing its vision of 'communication for all' through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 70,000 employees generated revenue of USD 27.9 billion (SEK 188 billion) in 2007. Founded in 1876 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm and NASDAQ.For more information, visit www.ericsson.com or www.ericsson.mobi.